Piyajo (lentil and onion fritters)

Piyajo is a staple during Ramadan, or ‘Roja’, as we call it across Bengali households. These crispy fritters are fried till golden brown in home kitchens or served as street snacks as the sun sets during this month.

Piyajo (lentil and onion fritters). Credit: Kishwar Chowdhury

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 cup yellow (mung) lentils
• 2 tbsp chickpea (besan) flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp nigella seeds
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 10 cm (4 inch) piece ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 green chillies, thinly sliced
• ½ bunch coriander, chopped
• Salt for seasoning
• Neutral oil, for frying

Soaking time: at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Instructions

1. Combine lentils in a medium bowl and soak overnight or for at least 2 hours.
2. Coarsely grind lentils in a food processor in small batches, using a few tablespoons of water to help the lentils grind. You don’t want an overly runny or wet mixture, more like a thick paste that can still bind together.
3. Add chickpea flour, baking soda and nigella seeds and mix to create a thick paste, add more chickpea flour if your lentil mixture is a little wet.
4. In separate bowl combine onions, ginger, chilli, coriander and salt to taste and mix well together. Remove any excess water from onion mixture.
5. Combine onions mixture with lentil mixture.
6. Make small golf ball-sized patties and squash them in your palm to flatten.
7. Heat a small wok or pot filled with neutral oil for frying over medium heat. Deep fry your fritters at 170°C till golden (7-9 minutes), in batches if necessary, making sure the lentils are properly cooked all the way through and the fritters are crisp.
8. Place on cake rack or paper towel lined tray to drain any excess oil. Serve hot.

Note

Besan or chickpea flour can be found in most supermarkets in the international or Asian aisle. If not, head to your local South Asian grocer or Mediterranean or dry goods store and you will be sure to find good quality besan. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.